Freeza Burns
by Jlate
Summary: Freeza's best men are dead. His body and pride are broken. And soon, he will die. But there is still a story to tell of the legacy this tyrant will leave behind, and its attempt to stay relevant. Set between the Namek Saga and Resurrection of F. -On hiatus until Legacy of Trunks is finished-
1. Reeling From a Legend

_**Freeza, King Cold and respective character don't belong to me. Or anything in the Dragonball series. This is a headcanon-based fanfiction, so don't worry.**_

 _Evil exists. And since time immemorial, there's always been a point of reference for it. Millions ago, it was Majin Buu. Millennia ago, it was Bojack. Centuries ago, it was the dread Super Nameks. And now, it was in the form of Freeza. In forty years, Freeza's public image had shifted from the mere brat of the tyrant Cold into a devil who had enslaved an entire quadrant under his palm._

 _But that was then. It has been over a month since Freeza's men no longer heard his voice. Freeza's top men were all dead. Freeza himself lay dying. For the first time in his life, Freeza knows true pain, true humiliation. Can he even comprehend it? With his body torn and maimed, Freeza has nothing left to contemplate what seemed impossible._

 **Ruins of Old Namek, January 28, Age 763**

 _(Freeza P.O.V)_

Pain. Agony. How…how long have I been out? It doesn't matter. I want to look at myself, at what that Saiyan beast has done. How could he do this? HOW?! I know of the Saiyan legend, of the Super Saiyans. I remember the old Vegeta yammering on to his traitorous son about it, the glory of the Super Saiyan, of how he would lead the Saiyans to total victory. Heh…what unwarranted pride in his barbaric people. Oh, it would've been so easy to just ignore his ramblings. But you can't be too careful.

 _I look back at the past. Of that cocksure prince, having long since overcome the death of his family with confidence of his might._

 _Vegeta: "Mark my words Freeza, one day I will become a Super Saiyan. It is my destiny."_

" _Don't get too full of yourself. You are my prodigy, not my successor."_

It couldn't be him. It couldn't be Vegeta who gained that regal power. No, it had to be some random, low-class garbage! Some sanctimonious, soft-hearted buffoon who's own filthy monkey kin probably left him to die! A cruel joke by the gods above that the Saiyan's "messiah" was some unaccounted idiot. Because, as horrifying as I'd imagine Vegeta's vengeance would be were there any chance of it, at least it'd be more dignifying than **this.**

I can't even hope that Goku is dead. I know he had to survive. The Ginyu ships were still on that rock. I bet he's warm under a fire, with his insipid family and that horrid smirk. I bet he thinks I'm dead. And soon…it won't matter. Even I can't survive forever on oxygen storage and fat reserves alone. Is this it? Should I…should I have ignored his goading, and left? Was I wrong?

NO!

I will not yield! I can never yield! One breath away from death is still life! And I will never let Goku get to me! I am the Emperor of the Universe, I decide who lives and who dies! Even if I suffer like this for a thousand years, I will never let him win! Heh…I should stop worrying. That idiot thinks I'm dead. But what he doesn't know is that even I have people who want to see me live on. And they're coming for me. I should stay calm. I should sleep and wake up home.

 **King Cold's Personal Spaceship, 12 February 763**

"Freeza, we need to talk."

In my forty-one years of power, I have almost never heard those words. My father always expected the best of me, and I always delivered like any son should. Of course, Coola always thought I'd screw up. That I was some petulant child…but look at the size of our empires. Coola's isn't even a quarter my own. Coola has always used the excuse of "quality over quantity", but it is my face which has become the definition of terror. It is my will alone that commands a quadrillion slaves. I have done more for the dynasty in ten years than Coola has in his lifetime.

And yet, from father's tone, I know this isn't something like "Damnit Freeza, you spilt my brandy!" I don't want to be reminded of any failing. Especially not from papa. Thankfully, I have my health as an excuse. And of course, my doctor can attest to that. My body was reconstructed only an hour ago, I need to know the Saiyan robbed me of bodily joys.

Malaka: "So, I assume you want to know more about your cyborg body?"

"Yes. Asides from my bisection, I never did figure out how severe my injuries were."

Malaka: "Your injuries caused some brain damage. Nothing personality or memory based, thank God, but we lost your sight and sense of balance. That's why your skull plate has the big "wedge"

"I've not been fed anything, just given water. I'm very hungry."

Malaka: "My apologies, but you've lost your intestinal tract and second stomach. Right now, we have to manually inject nutrients. Don't worry, in a few weeks the synthetic organs will allow you to feast."

"I expected _much_ better from you."

Malaka: "I know, it's just…do you know how rare it is for one of your species to get butchered like this? Your people are tough, I've not had much experience with your biology."

"What's this device on my breast?"

Malaka: "Something you'll need. The left button sends a distress beacon. The right one initiates emergency life support. The middle one allows you to see. Also, it's there to fix your gliver."

"Tell me, how strong am I right now?"

Malaka: "It'll take you over a year to reach full strength. Right now, I'd say your power level is 240,000."

It would be easy to crush Malaka's skull. Oh, how fun that would be! Use the very hand he gave me tosqueeze his head, forcing him to suffer the most agonizing of headaches before his brain matter oozes on my fingers. CRUSH HIM LIKE GOKU! But…I can't. He has what kept Vegeta from being another grunt, or better yet, dead: courage. Genuine courage. There is no pride in my doctor, he knows even the weakest of my soldiers could reduce him to atoms. Yet he doesn't fear me. For such an important, intimate soldier, that's an incredible asset. Besides, until I'm all better I need him. *shudder* I will make sure Goku still breathes when I turn his skin into a pelt!

Still, it's good to have confirmation that even in this maimed state, I'm stronger than any of my soldiers. As long as I live, I will be on top. But to no longer be broken, Goku must be shattered beyond repair.

 **King Cold's Personal Spaceship, 13 February 763**

"It's time we deal with your time on Namek. More importantly, what you need to clean up."

Father almost never speaks down to me. He has always recognized me as the greatest son a father one could have. The royal court often speaks of me, usually very quietly and very rudely. I've tortured a few, but it's never felt satisfying; not when I can watch the spectacle of their complaining being utterly impotent to stop me. And when my father visits? They are utterly silent. His is a power even I cannot ignore.

King Cold: "Freeza, this has nothing to do with your maiming. You already have an heir, it is nothing to worry about. Instead, this is about your team. Tell me, how many Stellar Units are you in charge of?"

"Six."

King Cold: "And three of those units are without a leader or their highest-class soldiers. There is not a single soldier left in those groups who's power level is in the five-digit range. Also, we lost the Ginyu Force. Tell me, did you do _anything_ to prevent their deaths? Or did you just sit on your ass and let the enemy get stronger?"

I hate to see my father be so condescending towards me. Coola loves to be so, but I can always fight him over it. Not with father. I don't need to answer him, he already knows. I keep quiet, but he decides to bore me with an obituary of my minions.

King Cold: "Zarbon of Citria. Dodoria of Pungentia. Cui of Porifia. All surpassing 15,000, all dead. Banan and Sui, Zarbon's Elite: presumed dead. Appule, certainly dead. Dodoria's Elite, Napple and Rasperry: dead. Guldo of Bas, Jeice and Burter of Brench, Recoome of Outer Kabocha. Even Ginyu: all dead. These were some of the strongest beings in the Northern Quadrant. Some the strongest their race has ever produced. You never intervened."

"Their combined power is less than my most suppressed state. They aren't needed."

King Cold: "Even we can't rule solely by ourselves. No excuses Freeza."

"Can we please get this over with; the Saiyan still breathes."

King Cold: "The moment our subjects see you, they will know you are mortal. It will give them hope. Increase the power of your army. Have them be almost as feared as you are. Coola knows this, you should too."

"And yet it is my face that embodies living terror across the cosmos."

King Cold: "That is a crutch. Also, remember that while your cybernetics enhance your body, the body still needs to recover. Use this opportunity to develop your army."

I can't believe he keeps talking down to me! I told him I was going to Namek to obtain the Dragonballs, to grant any wish. I should be immortal! But here I am, getting scolded. And eventually Coola is going to find out, and I'll _never_ live it down. One last victory from that simian bastard, one he'll always have. It doesn't matter what I do to him, I'll bear these scars."

King Cold: "You have a year and a half until your body heals and we can attack. Use it wisely."

 _Welcome to my fanfiction, "Freeza Burns." This story is here to expand the impact of what happens to Freeza' Empire from Freeza's near-death on Namek and onwards, which was partly explored in Yo Son Goku and Resurrection F. Though it is set mainly in the main timeline, we will see some of Trunks' timeline(for example, the Goku vs Mecha Freeza fight). It is in the same continuity as the "Legacy of Trunks" timelines._


	2. Lament of the Conquered

_The Invasion of Namek would be regarded by historians as the first, and perhaps most important great defeat of. In forty years of being the self-proclaimed "Emperor of the Universe", Freeza had traversed the Northern Quadrant for its strongest warriors. Seeking those with innately strong power like himself, he found beings like Zarbon and Dodoria. Though recruitment often involved getting his hands dirty, Freeza got lazy. He believed that with their power, he'd never need to help or interfere in their fights._

 _It is this overconfidence in his army's abilities that prevented him from trying to help them. It is their overconfidence in their master's that kept them complacent. Of course, Freeza never cared what might happen to his army after death, even before he denied its inevitability. But his father was becoming old, and seeing his son's maiming realized his "perfect prince" lacked one vital aspect: responsibility._

 **King Cold's Spaceship, 14 February 763**

 _(Freeza's POV)_

For over thirty years, I've been Emperor. Trillions of stars shine for me, hundreds of species fear my wrath as much as they would God's. When doomed rebels feel screeching "you monster" and "I'll see you in Hell" or even the insipid "good will always triumph over evil!" in my ear is enough, they tend to demotivate me. They ask me: "Are you really happy? Don't you feel just a little empty as Emperor? Isn't there a time where even you think of giving up all this, just for once?"

I know what they're trying to do; it's a vain hope I might reconsider my life. But they're right about one thing; there has been one moment my absolute power has gotten tiresome; paperwork. Every time I have to organize trade routes or crunch numbers for how much whatever planet I blew up cost, I feel like I'm watching paint dry…no, that's unfair, paint drying actually results in something nice to look at.

 _ **Goku!**_ Even now he vexes me! I could've become immortal! I SHOULD BE ETERNAL! If I was immortal, I wouldn't have to deal with this "tell their loved ones" nonsense! I wouldn't have to deal with any of this bureaucrat shit! My every whim would simply be accepted by this universe through virtue of it being impossible to stop me! At the very least, I'd have all eternity after being finished with this nonsense.

King Cold(video phone): "Freeza, have you begun calling your fallen men's families?"

"I am not doing something this demeaning! I don't give a shit about what they're up to, why should I do this?!"

King Cold: "I'm not doing this just to annoy you. You need to take better care of your men if you want your empire to stand."

"Is this a mid-life crisis?! Who cares about those peons! They were motivated by fear and fear alone, they don't deserve to exist as anything but disposable!"

King Cold: "Our enemies can't think that. If they know the terrors of the cosmos are cowards, you'll be less respected. More incidents like "Vegeta" will happen. I've read your reports, I know what happened. You know what? I think I might make Coola my heir now. You're wasting your potential."

"I'll….I'll behave. But you do realize a lot of these men don't have families anymore."

King Cold: "Enough do, however. Enough do to make this a punishment."

 **Freeza Planet 1(Formerly Citria), 14 February 763**

 _(Empolos' POV)_

Miles-"Happy anniversary Grandpa! I made this for you!"

Today is my fiftieth anniversary of being king. My grandkids have made me a quilt, detailing it with the history of my reign; my ascension, my dealings with Freeza, my minion expeditions. All the meanwhile, they remain cheerful and blissfully unaware of all that's wrong with the world.

Smolen: "Grandpa, why aren't you smiling? Did you not want this quilt? We know you like them, we thought really hard about it!"

Empolos-"It's fine."

Miles-"Is it because daddy is gone? He'll be back soon, won't he?"

Empolos-"I don't know."

I don't even bother lying to them anymore. Look at them; so innocent, they think my kingship means anything. They're the only ones who hang on to that illusion; they don't see me for the slave I am. The slave we _all_ are. Zarbon is probably busy being tortured for delivering piss-poor wine, or Freeza is planning to blow up one of our moons because my latest statue of him has uneven horns.

I was such a young man, only forty. I was promised master of my own domain. But he had to come, and…how many cities burned with his mere grunts? How many of my people died then? 600 million? 900 million? 1.3 billion? It doesn't matter; I only stopped him from stripping the planet of its resources by offering up my son. For centuries I've been led to belief that strength doesn't matter, but even the stupidest of his minions could level a continent. Politics don't work against walking WMDs.

Freeza(phone): "King Empolo, I have important news for you."

Freeza?! Oh gods, no! Not again! I bet he killed Zarbon, and he wants one of his kids!

Freeza(phone): "I have urgent news about your son."

"Y-yes Emperor Freeza?"

Freeza(phone): "Your son, Prince Zarbon of Freeza Planet One, has died. He perished on the Invasion of Namek, against a traitor in our midst: Saiyan Prince Vegeta."

I knew it. Gods damn it, I knew it. Vegeta always considered Zarbon a vapid coward, and Zarbon always knew Vegeta as a brutish psychopath who wanted to be the next Freeza. It's a miracle that Freeza didn't let them throttle each other out of sheer apathy.

"Was he punished? Please tell me Vegeta suffered."

Freeza(phone): "Only I may speak ill of him. You cannot; were it not for his stubbornness, he would have made you and Zarbon irrelevant. But yes, he has sadly passed away. And I know, deep down, that's what you want."

"…sir, I don't understand."

Freeza(phone): "You wanted Zarbon to be free. I know what you think of me; you think I'm a demon, and your "poor wittle Prince" is was better off dead. You're half-right, but I assure you Zarbon loved the glory I bestowed on him. He gave me his rights, and I gave him a thousand worlds to play with."

"Did he at least die painlessly?"

Freeza(phone): "How should I know? Probably not, considering how Vegeta felt about him."

"What happens to me? What happens to this world?"

Freeza(phone): "Do you honestly think I'd wipe out the first world of my empire? I like it too much to do so. The people, on the other hand? Just keep doing as I say and they'll be fine. Your son hasn't been a bargaining chip for over thirty years. Farewell."

Thirty years?! I..I could have…no. I couldn't. I can't do anything to help anyone, especially not my family. So long as Freeza lives, we're never going to be safe. I still don't know why he lets my subjects keep calling me king; a king is supposed to keep their people safe.

Smolen: "Grandpa, are you alright?"

"If Freeza ever comes here, run. Run far away. Run to the other side of the cosmos. I beg of you."

They won't be safe. Nothing will ever be safe. But better they have false hope than none. Better them not become like their grandfather. I'm sorry Zarbon…I'm sorry the gods allowed Freeza to exist.

 _R.I.P Prince Zarbon of Citria_

 _October 12 709 to December 20 762_

 _Mourned by one world, scorned by trillions of others_

 **King Cold's Spaceship, 14 February 763**

 _(King Cold's POV)_

Am I a bad father? I've been sure I wasn't. There are seven quadrillion star systems who quake in fear of my sons. Without lifting a finger, their reputation alone can give us a billion slaves. Especially Freeza; the Kais fear his army, let alone him. I thought I did my job. But my son is missing half his own body, the best of his men, all out of some pipe dream of eternal life. The irony of it all; he has everything he wants, but wastes it all in.

Am I a cruel father, or a kind father? I've hurt him, yes, but it wasn't malicious. We don't need to get stronger, but we do need some skill. Sometimes his reaction speed isn't enough, sometimes he strains to keep his less repressed forms stable. And sometimes I just need to punish him for embarrassing himself. I can't be a cruel father. Still, I wonder if I should have been cruel; at least to some extent. My kindness has created a spoilt brat who'll never live up to the god-like power within him.

Freeza: "I've contacted Zarbon's family. How many more of these do I have to slog through?"

"Quit your whining; most of our soldiers are survivors. About 3% of your army has surviving relatives, and only 10% of those bother contacting them. You have about to go."

Freeza: "Father, I think you miscounted; Appule, Cui, Blueberry and most importantly Captain Ginyu are the only Freeza Soldiers still in contact with their family."

"What about Banan, Sui and Orlen?"

Freeza: "I lost contact with Banan and Sui around a lake. They might still be alive, but they aren't welcome for going AWOL. Orlen was sent off-world after he summoned the Ginyu Force."

"Speaking of which; the Ginyu Force cost a lot for us to hire them. It should take us around two months to give our condolences to their families, in person."

Freeza: "Captain Ginyu is the only one of them I care about."

"If you had put that consideration

Freeza: "I get it. May I retire to my room?"

"You may."

Am I a fair father? No. He may not want to show it, but inside Freeza wants to whine and whine like a ten-year old. I wish he realized what I'm trying to do; I'm trying to make up for lost times and make him a better ruler. He's almost 76, but he still needs my guidance. I'm middle-aged at this point; I shouldn't need to treat him like a little kid.

I'll let him have one more indulgence, one more carefree conquest when he crushes that Super Saiyan. After that? No more softness. Freeza will learn to fear and respect me. He'll learn he cannot succeed on intimidation alone. I swear by God Himself, when I'm buried in the Catacombs of Persephones, Freeza will be a king respected by even Lord Beerus himself! His will be a legacy exceeding the legend of Freeza the Great! All will fear my son, and all will acknowledge his newfound wisdom! So swears Cold, King of Demetrix!

 _Will King Cold succeed? Will Freeza listen and become more pragmatic in the future? Hahahaha…poor King Cold, he doesn't realize this isn't an AU. Expect next chapter to deal with tertiary Freeza Force characters, who are going to get a chance to shine in this fanfiction._

 _Demetrix, as you can guess, is Freeza's home planet, and Persephones is its moon. No, it's not Arcose, though some of Freeza's kind live there. You'll find out why it's called that in a future chapter._

 _Aging: Freeza's people live a long time, but not as long as Namekians. They become adults at 40(and teenagers at 30), but it's not until 300 they become middle aged. At 400 they're old, and they typically live 450 years. As of now, Freeza is 75, Coola is 182, and King Cold is 323._

 _A lot of people suggest Freeza has some sort of tragic past that made him so evil. From what I've seen, I believe the opposite is the case; he's a total spoiled brat. Only now is King Cold realizing that. You could compare their relationship to Roose and Ramsay Bolton, or Twin Lannister and Joffrey Baratheon. Only Freeza isn't a total idiot or a (literal) bastard, he just lets his cruelty get in the way of pragmatism._

 _In supplementary material, Zarbon has been mentioned as a prince, which is why his father is a king. His family are anagrams of certain things. Try and figure it out!_


End file.
